With Meta blocking news links on its platforms in Canada, the estimated 29 percent of Canadians whose go-to news source is Facebook have to look elsewhere. So some national publications are redirecting their efforts to suggest new avenues Canadians may take to access news.
The ban on news is a reaction to the federal government’s Online News Act, which became law on June 22, forcing tech giants to pay for news links viewed by Canadians on their platforms. The companies have said the links benefit publications by boosting their reach and readership, but do not provide enough monetary value to the tech companies to pay for them.
Almost 70 percent of Canadian news consumers get most of their news online, including via social media, according to a survey published in June by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and Oxford University. With 45 percent turning to social media specifically, it may be a matter of this group seeking other online sources.
Newsletters
With concerns that people won’t actively seek out news on the websites of Canadian publications, some are looking for ways to still bring the news to readers online.Newsletters come directly to readers’ email inboxes without them having to poke around online looking for news. They also provide curation, highlighting the news of the day or sometimes tailoring article selection to a reader’s preferences. For example, general interest publications may offer a variety of newsletters that highlight a particular topic, such as health.
News Alerts
Publications also offer news alerts. A headline or snippet of current news may appear on a user’s phone. When readers download a news app, they may be asked to allow these alerts or notifications. As with the newsletters, users can often opt-in on specific topics.In a 2016 University of Texas study on news alerts, users reported a significant increase in their knowledge of current events via the news bites. They often went to the news organization’s app or website for more information after receiving alerts.
RSS Readers
Canadians looking for scrollable ways to skim through the news stories of the day may turn to RSS readers.Users can select as many news publications as they like while the RSS reader creates a feed of headlines, excerpts, and images from them, similar to the social media format.
Other Social Media Platforms
X, formerly known as Twitter, is another option. The law, which goes into effect in December, only seems to apply to Meta and Google so far, though the details will be finalized in the coming months.
X did not reply to an inquiry from The Epoch Times as of publication regarding its view of the new law or whether it will go the route of Meta should it apply.
YouTube already allows media outlets to monetize their content, so news content on YouTube—including news links embedded in videos and video descriptions—is unlikely to be affected, reports the CBC.
Loopholes
Some readers or publications may look for loopholes.The Canadian publication The Breach mentioned hiding the Canadian origins of its articles using a virtual private network (VPN) which masks the location. “The Breach is back, coming to you from anywhere in the world but Canada (courtesy of a VPN),” it said on Instagram.
However, Meta is blocking Canadian users from accessing links not only to content from Canadian publications but also from some international sources, reports the UK-based Guardian.
Some Facebook users are posting screenshots of headlines and the first few lines of articles from news organization websites. Since they aren’t links, the screenshots can be shared and may motivate some who see them to look up the article of interest on the app or website.
Going Offline
More news consumers may also be encouraged to go offline. The Reuters survey found almost half of the respondents still get much of their news from television. More people may also return to the print habit.The Winnipeg Free Press recently invested $10 million in new printing presses, the Reuters Institute noted.
Waiting It Out
As the Canadian government and big tech companies continue to face off on the new law, it is possible one or the other may give ground and again open Meta’s platforms to news links. Google remains in talks with the government.On Aug. 9, Canadian news industry groups asked the country’s antitrust regulator to investigate Meta’s decision to block news.
